Sales events are literally one of the lifelines of e-commerce growth strategies, offering a focused window of high-intent traffic and conversion opportunities. Whether it's a Black Friday Sale, Prime Day, The Great Indian Festival Sale, or seasonal promotions like Holiday gifting or Back-to-School, these events basically bring a surge of shoppers actively seeking deals and ready to purchase.
For brands selling on Amazon, sales events are not just about discounts; they are about visibility, market share, and long-term customer acquisition. A well-executed campaign during a sales event can lead to:
Increased brand discovery
Significant revenue spikes
Higher review volume
Loyal customer acquisition
Enhanced organic ranking
However, increased competition goes hand in hand with increased traffic. Simply bringing down the prices is no longer enough. Success now also depends on targeting the right shoppers with the right message at the right time, and that's where Amazon Marketing Cloud and Amazon DSP come in.
AMC Custom Audiences: A Brief
Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) is a secure, privacy-safe data clean room that allows advertisers to perform detailed, advanced analytics on Amazon data. One of the significant benefits of AMC is the ability to build custom audiences based on actual shopper behaviour, which is far beyond the basic demographic or interest targeting available through DSP.
Unlike basic and standard audience segments, AMC custom audiences allow advertisers to define exactly who they want to reach using SQL-based queries. You can create audiences based on several data sets and user behavior, which we will be looking at in the later sections of this blog.
Key Benefits of AMC Custom Audiences:
Before diving into the AMC audience, let's first cover the benefits of AMC custom audiences:
Granular Behavioral Targeting: Build audiences based on views, clicks, carts, purchases, repeat behavior, recency, AOV, frequency, brand affinity, and more.
Privacy-Safe & Compliant: All audience data is aggregated and anonymized and compliant with privacy regulations.
Cross-Channel View: Analyze engagement across Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, DSP, and organic actions.
DSP Activation Ready: Once built in AMC, these audiences can be securely exported for activation to Amazon DSP.
Concerning these benefits, AMC custom audiences are the next evolution in programmatic targeting, allowing brands to move from broad targeting buckets to high-intent, data-driven segments that drive real performance during sale events.
6 High-Performing AMC Audiences for Sale Events
Leveraging Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) to create custom audiences allows advertisers to tap into granular, first-party Amazon data for highly effective targeting. When integrated with Amazon DSP, it enables precise delivery of ads to audiences most likely to convert, especially during high-intent periods like Amazon sale events.
The following provides a thorough analysis of six AMC audiences for sale events that do exceptionally well:
1. Cart Abandoners (Last 14 Days)
These audiences are those shoppers who added one or more of your products to their cart but didn't make a purchase within the last 14 days.
Now, why do they matter? These users have already shown purchase intent. Abandonment may occur due to overpricing, distractions, or waiting for a better deal, all of which make a sale event the perfect time to retarget them.
You can build this audience in AMC using a SQL query; however, with Hector, you don't need any SQL queries to proceed.
2. Product Viewers Without Purchase
This segment consists of users who viewed your product detail pages (PDPs) but did not purchase or add to cart, or wishlist.
Such an audience falls in mid-funnel shoppers who are familiar with your product but haven't converted. A sale gives them the extra push they need to make a purchase.
3. Repeat Customers (Brand Loyalists)
They are the shoppers who have purchased from your brand multiple times within the last 6-12 months. There are your brand loyalists, and they are likely to be responsive to upsells, cross-sells, or new product launches during promotional events.
To activate this audience creation strategy in DSP, you can leverage the following:
Serve ads with exclusive early access or "VIP-only" deals.
Highlight bundles, new SKUs, or high-margin products.
Use copy or messaging like "Special Deal for Our Best Customers—You!"
4. High AOV Shoppers
These are the users who have made past purchases with a high average order value (AOV), such as $100+.
These users are willing to spend more and are perfect for premium product promotions, luxury items, or value bundles.
5. Inactive Buyers (Last 90-180 Days)
They are the customers who purchased from your brand in the past but haven't returned in the last 3-6 months.
These customers may have forgotten your brand or switched to other brands or competitors. Sales events are a great reactivation opportunity.
6. Search Term-Based Audience, e.g. Brand Searchers
These are the customers who clicked on your Sponsored Product Ads (showing a clear interest) but did not complete a purchase. They have already entered your product consideration funnel and are more qualified than general viewers.
When they click on your ad, it signals a stronger intent than just viewing a product detail page. They are the prime candidate for retargeting during sale events, when pricing perception may shift in your favour.
With these 6 AMC audiences, you can significantly improve the performance of Amazon DSP campaigns during the important sales events. Each custom audience segment is behavior-driven and backed by Amazon's vigorous data ecosystem, ensuring your ad dollars are spent efficiently. Whether you are preparing for Prime Day, Pay Day, or seasonal promotions, activating these audiences in Amazon DSP can increase your ROAS, reduce ACoS, and drive more meaningful shopper engagement.
How Hector Ai Can Help?
Amazon Marketing Cloud can be complex, especially for those who are new to this ecosystem. But with Hector Ai, you do not need any SQL to build a smarter audience. Whether you want to create a lookalike audience segment or add-to-cart audiences, our advanced tool allows you to follow the best practices. You can leverage multiple data sources to build the right customer segments.
Hector Ai combines cutting-edge audience-building tools with meaningful analytics to optimize your ad operations. If you want to take your brand on an e-commerce platform to another level of success, choose Hector today.